Casual Cam: Quilting Duchess Reigns

I did exactly that with Duchess Reigns, a huge show quilt I’ve been working on since 2012. When I reached the border section of this quilt, the quilting was so time consuming, and I was so busy and frustrated that I had to put her away.

For more than a year she sat folded on a shelf in my studio, and I honestly didn’t have much desire to get back to it. For awhile I considered cutting the quilt in half, or somehow finishing it with only half the border quilted. I was looking for ANY way to get out of this project and get off the hook.

 Finally I realized the best thing to do was just ignore her. I stopped obsessing about an easier or faster way to finish the quilting, and I stopped planning ways to change the design. I focused on other projects and allowed myself the space and freedom to come back to Duchess Reigns only when I really, really, REALLY wanted to.

This is a big deal because it’s really hard to stop and take a break on a project and not feel like a total failure. I felt a lot of pressure to work on this quilt, even when I didn’t really want to. Had I kept trying to plow through it, yes, I probably would have finished her a year ago, but I would most likely hate this quilt.

So I strongly support taking a break on projects that aren’t working. I also support the idea of throwing away projects you never intend to finish. I’ve even burned quilts that weren’t working for me.

Yes, some people have strong opinions and they like to share them and demand that you finish that project – Think of all the time you put into it! Think of the cost of all those materials!

This is just a guilt trip wrapped up in a pretty little package of well-meaning advice. No thank you!

 Ultimately giving myself space and time was the best decision I could make because one day I woke up and suddenly WANTED to work on Duchess Reigns. One day I realized that I had the time and the energy to finish this quilt and ENJOY the process.

That change in attitude has been the key to this project. I didn’t want to finish her when I was angry or overwhelmed. It took more than a year to turn my attitude around, but now that I have, I’m loving every second of this quilt!

So here’s a video about Duchess Reigns and how my perspective and attitude has changed over the last two years: